Whenever I am home to Glenwood, I love to travel around to the places I went as a child, with my own children. So, I took my mom, the kids and the dogs on a whirlwind tour around the deep South.First stop was "Lone Rock" or as it appears to be named "The Glenwood Erratic" . A glacial erratic located in the middle of a pea field.As a child, I always wanted to climb to the top of it, but never have yet.

Whether its entirely accurate, my mom has a legend that goes with the rock. She says that there was a native warrior with a young bride who were being chased by the mounties. The warrior hid his wife on top of the rock to elude capture. I have yet to actually find any record of this, but I heard the story all my life. If you happen to read this and you know more about the story, I would love to hear it.

The next stop on our travels was the St Stephen's chapel near the Alberta/ Montana border crossing at Carway.

Surpisingly, the chapel was actually open and my son and mother went inside. I didnt realize while we were there that it was, but they told me after we were on the road again, so sadly, no pics of that.The chapel was actually built on the South Hill in Cardston in 1901, but before it could be officially dedicated and put into use, terrible winds came, blew away a good deal of the structure and it had to be rebuilt. Over the course of the next few years there were continued difficulties with weather etc and so finally a parishoner donated some land southwest of Cardston and the church was relocated to its existing spot.

The next stop was my Great-Grandfather's homestead in the shadow of Chief Mountain. I wasnt exactly sure how to find it as the last time I was there was probably close to thirty years or more. I called my uncle and he said to simply find a dirt road not too far from the main road. A little vague, but in the end the directions were good.We found it, but had a hard time finding anywhere close to access it with a vehicle. Undaunted, we took the dogs and kids and make a trek of it through the grass which was taller than my daughter.

After visiting the homestead we traveled further East to Police Lake. As a child my grandfather took me ice fishing to this lake and we would catch Rainbow Trout. It made a permanent impression because he drove his truck way out into the middle of the lake, and the entire day, I was terrified that we would fall through the ice. I think I was 5.

On this trip, the weather was extremely hot and muggy. We walked out to the island and had a feast on Saskatoon berries all along the way. The dogs even took a dip in the muddy waters.

After the lake, we hopped back into the truck and traveled West to Waterton Lakes National Park. Since I spent so much time in the park as a child, I didnt have a deep burning desire to head back in there for just an hour or two. Instead, we drove through the buffalo paddock in hopes of actually seeing some buffalo, and we were not disappointed. Sadly, there were quite a few other vehicles so we were not able to get very close or stay for long.

One last stop before we headed home. Another Prairie church on top of a hill in a seemingly somewhat random place. It always makes me wonder about places that thrived at one point in history and then simply cease to carry on.

This church does have a dwelling behind it and it is well maintained, so I am curious if it still isnt used for functions, funerals, if nothing else.

One of my favourite families, I have been fortunate enough to watch this family grow from just Mom and Dad to now 2 beautiful little angels.This little boy has such a lovely big sister to take care of him as he grows.

This gal is such a terrific model. I used to be her roommate when we went to University together. It was so great to see her again and have the opportunity to work with her and show her how amazingly beautiful she is.

Going back through the archives, I am catching up on recent shoots that haven't actually been shared on the blog.Although my good friend B wasn't feeling very well this day, she was a great sport and was willing to try just about anything that I suggested to her.In the end, she looks marvelous!

I’ve been hinting at it for a week or so now. It is finally time to reveal the big giveaway. In the past, my giveaways have been exclusively Sunley Photography sessions or product, this time; I have the pleasure to announce a joint giveaway with Blue Bronna Wilderness Camp.

If you follow my blog at all, in the past, you may have seen some images of horse-back riding, camping, wilderness and so on. The majority of these images come from my time spent at Blue Bronna.

In 2014, I am going to reach back into the past and drag out my teaching hat once again. I will be giving a very basic photography course at Blue Bronna from June 27-29, 2014. I would love to have you join me.

That’s right, you can have the opportunity to spend the weekend riding horses, enjoying nature and learning how to make the most out of your DSLR camera.

So, if you have a camera and don’t know how to use it, this is a great time to learn. If you have never rode a horse before, that’s ok, this is a great time to learn that also.

I cannot tell you how much I love Blue Bronna, it’s a beautiful wilderness sanctuary. There is so much space out there to just enjoy, reflect and honestly, disconnect.

This contest is open to anyone age 16 years and up….. Here are the rules to enter… 1. check out this link on Blue Bronna’s Webpage….(LINK HERE) 2. find the secret word. 3. Fill out the form below with the secret word, and all your details. 4. Check the blog on February 2, 2014 to see the winner! And, if you aren’t feeling all that lucky, that’s ok. You can always guarantee your spot at camp by registering here BLUE BRONNA WILDERNESS CAMP Winners will be chosen at random

Enter the Secret word in the Comment Section. You will receive a confirmation EMAIL within 24hrs